


Across, Between ,and Below the Stars

by Jiggle_Physics



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Crazy Old Lady, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Friends to Lovers, Grey Jedi, Grey Jedi teachers, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Light Angst, Multichapter, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parallels, Planet Naboo (Star Wars), Redemption, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, Smut, Snoke was abusive and you can fight me over it, Surprises, Tags Are Hard, Tropes, crazy old lady may not be so crazy, force echos, hesitant friends, it knows, it ships them, mentions of abuse, the force is meddlesome, weird old ladies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-03-01 11:28:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13293897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jiggle_Physics/pseuds/Jiggle_Physics
Summary: In absences of the Supreme Leader someone must take the throne to destroy the last of the Resistance. Rey has taken with her an ally to Naboo to hide from the First Order. What happens when the echoes of the past reach across the stars and wake at their arrival? What happens when the force connects souls having recognizing their familiarity?





	1. Star Shaped Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to fanfiction where the word count doesn't matter and the update time is made up. 
> 
> I don't know how often I can update this and no idea how accurate as I haven't seen TLJ yet and am only running off of tumblr. If you have seen it and want to help give me pointers or correct me it is graciously welcomed! Please enjoy!

He was sedated. The drug flowing through his system making everything seem hazed, nothing had defined edges, nothing held real shape. Voices sounded as if he’d submerged his head under the water or too sudden and sharp with the clarity that made his mind throb from the intensity of it. The sensation of fabric on his skin changed from boiling to freezing and always itching like biting insects burrowing into his skin. The gloves were worst of all. He wanted them off, they were pulling and biting at his flesh. Yet; he didn’t demand anything. He didn’t ask, even if he wanted too his tongue was far too heavy to move. After all Kylo Ren did this to himself. No, Kylo Ren didn't do this. Ben Solo had. 

Ben had followed where she lead, had slipped past Kylo in the brief moment of weakness. Ben had gone with Rey. He’d fought back after having been forced under the straining weight of darkness, after having suffered injuries too many to count. The man had seized what he could of the moment and made their fate with it. Now he was on the ship. His father’s ship. This with its ever familiar sounds while they flew, its whirls and clicks as the ship sliced through space. It wouldn’t be long. They’d be at the last frays of the rebellion’s base and he’d ponder on how to live the next day. 

The comfort was in Rey. He could _feel _her. Her light wasn’t harsh or blinding like some would think. He was reminded of soft moonlight on a meadow or the sight of a star when gazed upon in the sky. She shone in the dark for all to see. Luminous, maybe? He couldn’t think clearly. Rey had promised to fight for him, had promised to keep him safe. Ben trusted her. Kylo was hesitant. Rey had Kylo’s curiosity, his intrigue, and begrudgingly some admiration. Ben was willingly transfixed, his will gossamer thin under her gaze, and eager to her call. She made a war tearing at his soul just as much as the rising light trying to shred into the darkness of his nature.__

__It didn’t much matter though, not with the steady thrum of force radiating from her soothing as much as the drug. It was moments later that he slipped into the dark of sleep and bore no nightmares in the silence of it._ _

__Rey couldn’t stop looking at Ben. From his deep breaths and closed eyes she assumed he was asleep, but he was so still. It worried her, maybe the drugs were too much? She didn’t agree with it in the first place. He’d come with her of his own choice. He’d taken her hand and followed as she went onto the platform away from the battle remains. There wasn’t hesitation when she had given a small tug to test if he’d even follow. He looked so exhausted. She mustn’t have looked any better sitting next to him, the battle was somewhat grueling. Rey had seen the look on Finn’s face though and to stop anyone from attacking the other Ben had agreed to be sedated._ _

__It made her nervous with how lazily he’d seemed to gaze about the room, how unfocused he was, how disconnected he appeared. Rey didn’t understand how exactly she’d done it but she’d reached for him with the Force. Just to make sure he was alright, just to know that he wasn't dying attached to those chemicals. The first initial brush against his mind scared her, it was violent, chaotic. A storm cloud flickering dangerously with lightning upon a scorched ground. It crackled at struck out at everything, long dead was what looked once like a place of green, even what she could guess was a lake that had gone dark like ink had been spilt into it._ _

__She hadn’t seen this last time she’d pressed into his mind. Was this what it was like when he was unconscious? Without his barriers is this what was left? Didn’t the screeching noise of the wind disturb him like it did her? Didn’t the suffocating feel seem to smother him? Rey refused to turn from this, there was light in him. Even in this storm there was to be light. She hadn’t meant to pry to look for the light but there it was._ _

__Growing in the most brief and rare moments of calm and somehow sunshine was a flower. It sprouted from the ground. Red in its tone but not the harsh vibrancy of his lightsaber, this one seemed deeper. Calmer? Rey vaguely recalled the sloppy drawings of a child on a piece of paper noticing the flower bore the same shape like a star. It wasn’t wilted. It wasn’t dying. It just was. It existed. She let the tips of her fingers brush over a petal._ _

___The field was in endless shades of green. __A lake blue as the sky seemed to sparkle in the daylight while the sounds of some unknown creature brayed behind her. Rey would have looked but she heard laughter. __A woman blurred save for the gold hue of her dress was astride a man in shades of black and maroon laying against the ground laughing. __They seemed happy. __The youthful playfulness of it was so warm._________ _ _

____________Rey was startled out of the scene by a snap of fingers in her face, “Rey? You alright?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Finn questioned looking over his friend that seemed dazed, “Uh fine, fine.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“We’re going to be landing soon, then we’ll deal with...that.” He gestured to the man laying down next to her, the defensive urge rising in her chest was tempered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She knew it’d take time for anyone to think of him as more than a thing, a killer, evil. Kylo Ren was just that. But Ben? Ben Solo wasn’t. She’d just have to convince his judge and executioner of that._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Plans

Ben slept through the landing, and Rey voted to never put the man on such a heavy dosage ever again. She knew he wasn’t going to be easy to carry but this was honestly ridiculous. He was all limp weight with no help at all from the man so drugged, it took Poe and Finn to carry him. Neither of her friends were ecstatic to see him alive, Poe grumbled something along the lines of a waste of space and Finn along the lines of a trash compactor. Rey followed them unsure of where they were going to put him exactly. Where the rest of the Resistance made a base was old, hidden away on a planet that she didn’t know the name of and to her surprise it had cells. Some of the surviving mechanics had rigged power to a small portion of the broken down structure. A sliding door opened to a cell. 

Rey couldn’t blame her comrades for their rougher treatment of dropping him on the jutting ledge of a bed. They bound his arms and legs down before calling in a medical droid to administer a timed dosage if he were to move too much. She didn’t like it, he was a prisoner but also a good person or was trying at least. She couldn’t protest to them because after all Kylo Ren had left his mark deep into the Resistance fighters, her included. Nor did she envy the headache that he was going to have when he woke up as they left him there. 

“It’s good to see you in one piece.” Poe smiled slinging an arm around her shoulders, she gave him a side-hug still not used to the easy affection Poe alway extruded around himself. 

It made something tight loosen in her chest and she smiled, “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”, Rey grinned walking with him.

“That reminds me, the General wanted to see you about the...situation.” Poe didn’t really know how to refer to the capture or willing return or plot that involved Kylo being locked away in one of the cells.

Rey fought the sensation of worry, Ben was Leia’s son yet he’d done so much. So much blood ran from his hands, stained his very soul the worst was a part of her in some way thought at how he possible idled himself justified. He’d walked with her to this but could she actually redeem him? Was there really a chance? Would they be given a chance? How could she get him to change? What if she couldn’t? Was she just clinging to hope? Rey groaned a little trying to clear her head, after giving thanks and walking away from Poe.

“One step at a time.” She muttered, her mind blindly floundering in every way possible with no direction or balance, it was chaotic and she could feel a headache forming. 

She could only feel a spike of panic upon seeing General Organa looking at her when she arrived. Rey had brought home her son. Her son ,however; was a war prisoner and a previous Jedi killer. 

“How is he?”

“Asleep, I think. They -we- put him under some sedatives, he’ll come out of it but I’m not really sure how he’ll react to all of it. He came with me willingly enough.” Rey watched a small yet sad smile cross Leia’s lips.

“I’m afraid that his actions warrant the medication, until his trial I’m sure that’s where they’ll keep him. I wonder if he’ll let me see him.” The tone was morose and heart breaking, a mother having lost her child and still losing them, Rey couldn’t help the interest though at the word trial, “The trail will be in a few days.”

“So there’s a chance?” The Jedi didn’t notice the way her face lightened or how her words were painfully hopeful, Leia had once carried such a hope and perhaps with this strong willed woman it could raise from an ember to fire again. 

“I...I’m not sure, Rey, the trial seems to be more for performance's sake than anything. To show that the Resistance isn’t like the First Order, that we have regulations.” So there was little chance.

“You’re the General, there has to be something. Anything.”

“I only wish I had such pull, for now its not set in stone though.” The General turned away, Rey attempted to speak the sudden wave of drowsiness that pulled at her mind. 

_Where are you. ___

__The bond hadn’t shown him but the statement dragged through the edges of her mind. Ben had woken, his voice sluggish and speech slow but she could feel the spark of anger as he came to the realization of where he was._ _

___She betrayed you. She left you here just like he warned she would. You idiot boy, she lied. ____ _

____The sharp bite of the words rang in her mind. If he was going to lash out they would use a stronger tranquilizer and he’d be even more furious when he woke up again. The walk to the ‘prison’ was quick, she could feel the swirling mix of rage, anxiety and loss despite his refusal to admit to the latter two._ _ _ _

____Maybe it was the stumbling past his mental  walls earlier but the swirl felt like the start of a tornado, the lightning rearing back, the shadow stretching over that odd flower growing through the cracks. The sensation in her chest tightened to something nearly painful until she slid open the door. The storm soothed as much as possible, at least there wasn’t the echo of screeching winds and crackling lightning toying at the fray of whatever was left of the thin bond._ _ _ _

____He looked...Ben was sitting up against the wall with his long legs stretched out in front of him with his hands in his lap. One hand had an I.V. hooked up and was being fed a fluid, what she could only guess was the sedative. His hair was in tangles and sticking whichever way it pleased. His pale skin was even more white underneath the light and he was sweating with his system trying to work out the drug. Upon the opening he looked at her, eyes not as glass like as they had been on the ship._ _ _ _

____“I half expected my executioner.” Ben scoffed but there wasn’t any real venom to his words, because he was so drugged or he didn’t want there to be she wasn’t quite sure._ _ _ _

____“You called.”_ _ _ _

____“I didn’t think... Snoke said... I wasn’t sure it would work, I just wanted to test out the bond.” Rey crossed her arms and leaned against the wall with an eyebrow raised._ _ _ _

_____Liar. ____ _ _ _

______“So, am I going to die when they let up on the drugs or in the morning.” The man sneered hiding behind the mask of Kylo Ren again._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Ben, stop it. There’s going to be a trial. You’re going to have a chance. I’ll make you have one at the very least.” She tried for comfort but was met with a wall and his blank face._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I doubt it. They’ll happily kill me on what I’ve done. Some of it might be deserved. I don’t think there’s much you can do here save for wait for them to offer my head on a platter to the Supreme Leader, whoever that’s going to be now.” Ben’s -Kylo Ren’s- tone was cold, distant, angry._ _ _ _ _ _

______“What did you say?” It was a sliver of hope, a slight tip in their favor, Rey’ mind already scrambling for a plan._ _ _ _ _ _

______For a moment Rey was stunned at Ben’s reaction. His emotions were easy to read with his face so bare. For a moment the way his eyebrows scrunched, the dull look ,and expression that clearly read of sarcasm looked like a replica of Han. Just for a moment. A single second and she could see how closely he resembled his father. It brought a pang of loss and slight fondness at the sight of him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I said-”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I know what you said. About the Supreme Leader, do you know who it’d be?”-He looked irked by being interrupted but nodded all the same- “You would know how they think, what they’d plan next. Right?” She hadn’t noticed that she’d begun to pace in the small space._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Most likely it’d be Hux, he would practically jump with glee at my lack of being there to take the throne.” It sounded almost accusatory but she didn’t seem to notice._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You could provide information, recon, and you can’t do that if you’re dead. If they kept you drugged it could alter your memory so they’d half to take you off it.” She was talking and walking faster with each word as she planned aloud not caring or minding that Ben could hear every word._ _ _ _ _ _

______“That’s a wonderful idea but how does that keep me out of this?” He gestured to the cell around him, “Giving intel doesn’t mean I get out.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“But it could! For your compliance, your release could be bartered. You’d need to be under surveillance but if the General and I planned it right then I could be the one to do that.” -she didn’t see him flinch slightly at the mention of his mother- “She has some sway and they don’t know about whatever the bond between us is. This could work. Ben this could actually work!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Until the ginger finds out that I’m alive and feeding information. Hux would hunt down wherever the information seems to come from then he’d be able to track back and destroy what’s left of the Resistance. Hux is a weasel but he’s not stupid. He would find out where you are and crush it all.” His voice drawled out as if explaining to a child._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Then we leave. The Resistance splits into sections not having a central base and the information could be fed to different and from different places so he couldn’t be set on a single planet. It would bounce from place to place too much for him to pinpoint anything.” Rey adamantly argued back, in the wake of her determination and sheer will he conceded that they might actually have a chance._ _ _ _ _ _

______“It’s possible but why would they listen to any of this?” He watched her bite her lip and brow furrowed in concentration._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Because of the General.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“My mother can’t sway the whole of my fate.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Fine.” She spat out, “Because of me. It would be a favor to the last Jedi, they would be able to know that I could keep something of a resistance against you.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______She glared at Ben’s snort, “Do you have a better idea?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“If they hadn’t put me on these drugs…” He muttered but she rolled her eyes._ _ _ _ _ _

______They had a chance, slim and unsteady but a chance. Ben didn’t try and fight the flicker of sheer bright hope flurrying from her side of the bond. Despite its sharpness he didn’t mind the pulse of warmth that came from her refusal to let him die. She’d promised and she was keeping it._ _ _ _ _ _

______The clacking of boots was slow and measured. Rey turned in curiosity but Ben? Ben sat rigid and she could feel a tendril of fear coiling in him that he was shoving down or at least attempting to shove down. She felt it second hand. Sunshine, the scent of cedar, brown hair long and let down flowing around him like a curtain. The fabric against his face soft and the arms pulling him close were warm. The nose resting in his wild hair nuzzled at him and a warm laughter filled the air. Just as quickly as the sensation and sight rose it shattered like thin glass into the waiting shadow where Ben kept it._ _ _ _ _ _

______Leia opened the door and stood shocked for a moment to see her son and Rey, “I didn’t think to find you awake.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Mother.” He was cold, calculating and Rey wanted to hit him._ _ _ _ _ _

______Didn’t he see how much this woman was hurting? How torn apart she felt? Leia had lost all of her family against her son and her son was the only thing left. The conflict between herself was coiling, fighting, trying to make sense of what to say or do next while she tore herself apart._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Should I leave the two of you and come back ano-”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“No.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yes.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“How very clear.” Her tone eerily similar to his earlier one or was it his was similar to her own, “I wanted to talk about the trial.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Of course you would.” Kylo snapped and Rey watched the General sigh, the movement stretching into her shoulders as they dropped._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I wanted to try and make a plan, Ben.” His eyes narrowed but he refused to meet his mother’s gaze, “Or would you prefer I call you Kylo Ren?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Rey began to walk away knowing that what was going to happen should be private between them, as the door hissed closed she heard it hardly above the sound, he must have muttered it, “Ben.”_ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if anyone seems ooc, I am trying honestly! Any critique is welcomed. If you have any information that is not in place through out this and the rest of the chapters please tell me. I need the help! Thank you all for reading and the kudos!


	3. Judgement

It was decided that the war prisoner wouldn’t be at his own trial, instead he was left in the cell waiting his sentence. Rey looked at how the council seemed to be more of a war meeting than anything. Gathered around the circular table, yelling out the decisions and fighting through each choice, the room was erupting into heated arguments and Rey couldn’t fight the growing headache. 

“He is dangerous and more than capable of killing without regard. We’ve seen this already!”

“He can offer what no one else can! Not even the spies aboard the ships can give insight like him.”

“I agree, there are only reports of confusion.”

“If we let him evade this then we risk looking weak against the First Order and our allies have al-”

“We are better than the First Order!” Rey shouted above the mass arguments, “Isn’t that what this is about? We’re trying to fight the First Order to restore peace. If we kill Ben Solo” -the entire committee seemed torn between curiosity and recoil at his given name-” then we send a message that we have no mercy. If our allies want justice so desperately then use him. He knows the rising Supreme Leader. He could help tear the entire Order down from the foundations up.”

Leia looked pleased at the Jedi, “Indeed, if we pass this opportunity then how many more countless lives will have been destroyed? All because of our own selfish desire for revenge.” 

“General, you are pleading to his innocence? This man that killed Han Solo?” Rey felt the urge to yell at the accuser. 

“No, Kylo Ren is not innocent of any of the accusations. He killed many of our friends, our family. His rampage has destroyed dear ones that are irreplaceable. I’m am saying to give Ben Solo a chance. Need I remind us all that Rebellions have been built on less. Rebellions have triumphed on chance. On hope. This is a moment that could change this war. The question is who will be willing to give this hope a chance?” Leia spoke strongly, her words precise if not a bit coaxing but with the strong headed will of any general.  

There was no yelling, no raised voices over the other nor against the calm consideration. The delegates each turned to the other, discussing the words with careful debate. An hour of hushed whispers and delicate arguments. An hour. It felt like a lifetime. Rey pushed out carefully trying to reach for the bond. It hadn’t broken like Snoke insinuated it might, but it was thin almost like a wire, the silver kind behind the sheathing that she’d cut away on one of her hunts. It hummed softly, he was asleep or receded into his own mind with the walls up again. Rey couldn’t help but wonder how high they went. How thick were the mental barriers he constructed. Despite the harrowing memory of the storm she was still transfixed. The flower stood out in her mind. 

“Rey.” Leia nudged the woman that was lost in her own thoughts. 

“General Organa, you have proven your point rather well. Nearly irreproachable in its structure, the Senator Amidala would have been proud.” Rey held her breath knowing this was it the moment that would spare or destroy Ben,” And you Jedi have proven most adamant in your argument for the prisoner’s final judgement. It is by unanimous decision that the sith will be spared on the condition of his complete compliance.”

The rush of breath that escaped her lips surprised her, she didn’t know she was holding it, “I...I would like to put forth a…”

“Clause.” Leia offered with a smile. 

“That. I want a clause to the agreement. Le- The General and I discussed the possibility of moving him off world if he wasn’t sentenced to death.” she could feel the rising tension, “ He would need to be away from the base and give the information to various other…”

“Divisions of state.” Rey nodded thankful of the General that was smiling almost proudly at her. 

“Divisions of state, so that the information couldn’t be located at one place. The First Order would remain confused. If this was done then someone would have to accompany him.” She waited letting it sink in, Leia had told her not to offer herself up at first if the council came to it of their own conclusion then it would feel less like a ploy.

They plunged back into debates and Rey had come to the vivid realization that she loathed politics more than anything in the galaxies. Thankfully it only took nearly an hour a fact which was she wished to watch paint dry more than wait.

“Under the delicate circumstances we agree but with terms of our own. You have proven yourself his better many times.” Rey could practically hear him being offended by that,” We ask that you take this duty then. The prisoner shall be implanted with a chip honed to you, should he leave off planet from you then the electrical shock will kill him.”

Her eyes widened but she nodded, “I accept.”

“Fetch the prisoner if you will?” She nearly ran out of the room while Leia stayed to discuss the planet on which to put him. 

The only time the Jedi felt that she’d moved so quickly in her life was when she was running from the TIE fighters on Jakku. The irony wasn’t lost on her. The joy and relief that soared through her system flooded the bond. She wasn’t even near the hallway when she felt Ben startle awake or away from his own darkness. She could tell he was reeling. Dealing with the sudden force of her emotions atop of what had been brewing behind his walls. 

He was free to reach out and feel as the droid had stopped administering the drug for him to be clear headed at the result of his trial.

The look on his face was almost comical as the door slid open. His head tilted back from her with a pinched expression on his face that was almost painful, “Good news?”

“You’re not going to die, so yes!” The wave crashed into him again and he felt sick, “We did it, the plan actually worked. Can you believe that? They’re going to send us to a planet just like we worked out!”

It didn’t come as a surprise that he wasn’t used to the vibrant, blaring light that was radiating off of her. He’d thought of her as moonlight on a meadow but apparently night was over and the sun was streaming in feeling so close to the land that it was practically burning. Kylo Ren snarled and attempted to drape darkness over himself in an act of defiance. A way to protect himself. Ben reached out. He let the warmth play across his skin even if it was starting to become unbearable. He missed the light and loathed it at the same time. The jagged edges of himself clashing against each other again. They grinded away at each other as a whole making the division all the worse, all the more agonizing.

He wasn’t sure what to do, she was obviously satisfied that he wasn’t going to be executed and to a measure he was too. However; left too much open, too much to consider. He wasn’t going to die, good but what now? Going to a new planet. Giving information. The gaping hole of uncertainty loomed below him and he had no choice but to jump. At least with Snoke, despite the pain, there was certainty. He was guided. He knew where to go, what to do, he had orders. He had a clean cut path and now? Now he just floated? Bobbed? Existed. Now he just existed in the chasm of unpredictability. 

Why was his chest hurting so much? He felt like he’d lost a lung and his fingers trailed up into his hair and began to tug just slightly. It hurt. Why did it hurt? Pain was something to be controlled, honed and used like the red flickering of his lightsaber. Why couldn’t he make it stop? Why couldn’t he control it?

“Ben?” The voice was soft -cautious- and he flinched from it, the room around them seem to become electrified with the sudden pull around them had rocked through Rey, crashing against her as if to knock her onto her back. 

He wasn’t gasping for air but she saw that he couldn’t breath, he was curling in on himself like a child would to hide. The force was clawing at anything and lashing against it, she could feel the tightening around her like he was trying to suffocate them both. Rey didn’t want to touch him. She didn’t know how to get to him. His fear was overwhelming and she didn’t know what to do. It was all uncharted territory and she fought to hold down the chocking fear in the back of her throat. 

The door slid open and she almost pushed the General out in panic for her, Leia shoved off the touch and walked attentively to her son. 

“Ben?” He finally sucked in a breath yet held it instead of breathing out again, “Ben, can you hear me?”

Her tone had none of the authority Rey had seen before. This was soft. Kind. Gentle. Pleading.

Leia inched forwards with her hand outstretched as the man nodded very slowly, “Ben, sweetheart, breathe.”-Rey felt like she was intruding cruelly on the venerable moment but she couldn’t get her feet to move away-” In for four seconds then out for seven. Remember?” 

His mother crouched next to him looking at how he hid his face behind his unkempt hair trying to block out the world. She refused to be locked out though and lightly tugged at the black sleeve on his arm. Ben didn’t flinch, he didn’t lean into the touch either instead he let his mother tug on his sleeve until she was able to get a hand from his hair. The bond though wire thin spiraled out and Rey had to fight to not push against what seemed and ever thickening wall. He wouldn’t let her in, he refused and it caused a migrane to form from her small attempt at brushing against him. Was it always going to be like this? Her curious pushing and his pulling away? If so it was going to be a long trip. 

The process was slow, methodical on Leia’s part and Ben hesitantly eased away from whatever thought had thrown him into despair. Rey was surprised that he didn’t snatch his arm away from his mother. She moved her hand off and stood obviously fighting the urge to reach out, to comfort her obviously still loved son. The two didn’t speak of the small moment when after his calming breaths so Rey didn’t either. Leia composed herself as she began the explanation told him the terms to the agreement of his departure. 

“What planet am I to be sentenced to, then?” the words were supposed to come out spiteful and cold but it was exhausted in tone.

“Naboo.” Ben made a non-committal sound,” So I take it you’re in agreement of the terms?”

“Exile is welcomed compared to what they originally planned, I’m sure.”

“If anything you’re exiled to Rey, after all if you leave the planet it will be...detrimental.” Leia walked to the door to have a droid come in with what looked like a blaster. 

Rey’s panic twisted inside of her at the shape, its pristine white showed a series of small needles and she didn’t envy Ben in the slightest. The tendrils of fear coiled out to snatch at her when the droid turned to her. Ben could lie as he pleased but this bond couldn't or perhaps he found comfort in not having to say anything, not having to express his emotions verbally for her to understand. 

“I’m not the one getting the chip.”

“A sample is needed to complete the process. It is a simple prick to your finger.” 

Ben could have laughed at the look on her face. Rey of Jakku, the Scavenger, the rough and tumble all instinct Jedi was obviously debating if this was worth it. In the end she closed her eyes and lifted a hand. The prick to her finger made her jump but besides that she seemed fine having obviously having expected something more painful. He didn’t hesitate when the droid came close even going as far as to roll up his sleeve for the machine. The pain and agony Snoke had sewn into his mind and body was nothing compared to the quick injection into his arm. He felt the chip settle as he was scanned to see if it was functioning. 

“Chip is successfully inserted, removal is restricted until orders are received. Thank you for your cooperation.” The droid's voice was clinical. 

“This afternoon you’ll be on the cruiser as refugees from the First Order, and will be outfitted for it - they are allowing you to use the fresher, Ben- luckily there is a small house where you’ll be able to stay until further notice.” Leia explained, “Rey I suggest you get dressed.”

Rey left with Leia and didn’t stop the tug on her mind. 

_I suppose I should thank you?_

_I’m not sure you’d mean it._

_I might._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear these will get longer when we get going. I promise! Critique is always welcome and thank you all for the kudos and comments!


	4. Star Screamer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Force is mischievous amongst mysterious and loves to be vague.

Rey sighed knowing that the uncertain ‘I might’ was the least that she was going to get from him in ways of thanks. She admitted although the circumstances weren’t good she was excited to see Naboo. She’d heard a little bit about it, but she could only begin to imagine what it would be like in person. On the way to her room she was stopped by Finn. 

“Rey!” She couldn’t help the smile at seeing him, “I heard they’re letting Kylo Ren live. What’s really going on?”

She bit her lip trying to figure out a good way to explain to the man that had been severely injured that she’d been key in not only in Ben's release but his continual life. Somehow saying ‘there’s still good in him, it’s still there under the storm’ just didn’t seem to properly defend her actions. Instead she explained it from a vantage point of view. Yes, she was stuck with guard duty more or less but it wouldn’t be for nothing. It took a while to convince him that this was the right thing to do, that it was necessary in the destruction of the First Order. 

“I don’t like it.” Rey grinned sheepishly at his statement, his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw set.

“No one has to like it, but it’s got to be done. Besides it’s me, I’ve got this under control.” She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt, there was no telling what would happen, “Don’t you trust me?”

“It’s him I don’t trust.” She laughed a little. 

“Well trust me to keep him in line.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s her.” She didn’t even notice Poe catching the conversation, “She’s got this. If he tries to do anything she’ll put him on his ass and that’ll be that.”

“I don’t know, there isn’t anyone for backup if things go bad.”  Finn argued now focused on Poe and not her. 

“She’ll call in the cavalry.”

“And who would that be, it’s not like we’re rolling in recruits?”

“Could be the best pilot in the Resistance.”

The door closed with the two of them arguing and she shook her head with a smile. They sometimes fought like loth-cats but she didn’t know of two other people closer to having her back. Even if they didn’t always agree. The rooms weren’t spectacular but she loved it regardless of what other luxuries people thought of. It had a roof, four walls, a bed that she was still trying to get used to compared to her one at Jakku, and a fresher. Her new set of clothes were sitting out. She could guess she had Leia to thank for the cream and tan shades, mostly for the lack of a dress that she was told some of the women wore. She didn’t understand them. How was anyone supposed to fight in those, much less a lady? How were they supposed to defend themselves? 

That was the truth though wasn’t it? Ladies weren’t supposed to fight, instead they were supposed to look like painted dolls, eat slowly and daintily and converse on the weather. Rey would rather be called unlady like than subject herself to that whole world of new torture. The clothes though were rather plain and light in her hand. Would it be warm on Naboo? Did they have trees, grass, lakes? Was there one sun or two, more than one moon? How many people lived there? What did the sky look like? What stars were there?

Rey couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t just a little bit excited at the prospect of a new world. There were so many in the galaxy that she couldn’t possibly visit all; yet, the ever present wonder in her craved to visit as many as she could. Maybe once the war was really over, if it was ever to be over? Regardless of that she had to pack more, the little that she had she cherished. The doll was old and ragged and she shouldn’t cling to it like a child but she did. It was torn and sewn back together with clumsy hands. The doll’s drawn face was faded on it’s rough fabric and she made a note to maybe draw one on it again. She’d scavenged it as a child on one of the imperial ships. An odd place to find it. 

She couldn’t help but wonder that maybe it was a father or mother holding to the toy for their child. There had been people on the ships that weren’t fighters, maybe it had been one of theirs? Still she couldn’t find it in herself to give it away not that anyone would take it, but maybe in the twisted way of war it had been meant for someone like her? So she kept it and smuggled it with her even on the base, tucked away in her room. 

Rey smiled running her fingers over it and then laying it under her clothes in the bag. She’d pack more clothes, her other set of shoes, a brush, and some other essentials but she blissfully worked in calm motions, relaxed. A small tune was even being hummed in the still air while she went about and picked up things here and there where she wanted or needed. She didn’t stop humming, not even she started the fresher and stepped in. 

The fresher always fascinated her in a way. There was so much water, clean, clear water. Not like the one in a bucket that she had to use for days and days more on Jakku. No. It spilled out in a steady thrum and splash against the floor. The way it fell off her hand when she reached out to the rivulets of water was almost hypnotic. There were plenty of times she had to pinch herself to realize that the comfort wasn’t something her mind made up as she stared out over the endless dunes under the sun of Jakku. 

The smile was self indulgent as she let the room around her heat up and fog before stepping under the water fully. She let it seep into her skin, let it run through her hair and revel in it the feel. Rey could feel the way it slipped off her shoulders and eased her muscles that seemed abnormally stiff like she’d sat still too long or slept on her side against metal. She didn’t focus on it too much, it could easily be possible with all that was happening around that maybe she’d pulled something. 

It wasn’t something to worry about, not with the -her- fingers running through her soapy hair and massaging her scalp. Rey knew others would find it peculiar, improper, at her delight with the way the soap foamed under her fingers or the way she could feel it pull dirt and sweat from her hair. It felt good. It felt clean. 

She found serenity in the hand engulfing her hip, it’s calluses running over her in the soothing circles being rubbed into the skin. She leaned into the touch, indulging herself with the phantom sensations not seeing a reason to open her eyes. Rey fell into it, the chest against her back had scars, and the hand in her hair was no longer her own. She didn’t question it, why should she? It all felt familiar. So familiar and warm and gentle. It wouldn’t hurt to imagine this, the mirage mapping her body with devotion. Like worship, like being wanted. 

There was a face placed into her neck nuzzling against her. The Jedi didn’t think of giving him a face. It just was. The aquiline nose pressed into the curve of her neck as she tilted it back, an offering of sorts. The full lips caressed, touched, they’d offer words of praise and sly remarks in a deep rolling voice. The breath was warmer despite the sauna dense steam in the air. 

How long had it been since she’d allowed herself an illusion like this? She had dreams of this nature before. In the AT-AT with it’s metal walls, the sand falling in when a storm would kick up, harsh and coarse. Dreams were relief. She’d dream of her family only to be in agony when she woke as a child. She couldn’t pinpoint when exactly when she was older, but the dreams changed. She never saw his face, always covered in shadow or he’d keep to her back. He’d talk but Rey could never remember what about, all she recalled was tall and comfort. But this phantom was hers in all his lanky awkwardness that had been when she was younger. She didn’t mind fully it was just odd to feel him again after the few years that he seemed to vanish, he felt different in a way but she’d grown it’d make sense her imagination would alter him too.

The nervous cough jolted her abruptly out of the whatever it was- daydream or vision- and made her nearly fall as she spun around, “Kriff!”

His back was turned thankfully and the air was thick enough with steam that it kept her from seeing more of Ben than she wanted too. That didn’t stop her eyes from flickering over his back though. It was quick and she wasn’t staring just making sure he wasn’t going to look. He had so many scars. They were pale in the light and raised on his skin along with the same beauty marks spackled against his fair skin. Half a part of her mind felt the urge to trace the scars, to hear the stories, or to draw constellations on him and make stories with them. The other half of her mind screamed at her to turn around and forget she’d even seen anything. 

'Oh Ben. What did they do to you?’

She could forget-would-forget his broad shoulders, the way his dark locks fell longer than normal slickened with water that spilled over hi- “I would really like if you closed this.”

“Me too.”

“Can’t you, I don’t know will it away or something?” She snarled out turning her back on him and refusing to admit to the flush of red that was no doubt staining the tips of her ears too. 

“It’s not like turning off a light.” He growled back and she could feel him cross his arms or was that hearing the difference in the way the water hit him, “Your guess is as good as mine about this connection.”

Rey wouldn’t admit to being thankful for the spike of anger that was rushing to cover the way that growl seemed to roil through her. She was angry, furious even but not that sensation that made her heart startle. Instead of doing anything she just started tapping her foot, if they had to wait then she’d wait. The sound of a cap opening made her eyebrows scrunched together. 

“What are you doing.” The words came out as more of a warning than question, a demand.

“I’m in a shower.” He huffed as if that answered anything, “Just because we’re stuck together isn’t going to stop me from scrubbing off the dirt and grime. No thanks to you.”

“If you hadn’t started this in the first place then maybe you wouldn’t be a war prisoner.” It was a low blow and the ferocity that welled up lashed at her but she refused to let him get the better of her, refused to let him anymore than this surface.

In her huff she couldn’t help but smell something. Nothing like her shampoo and it’s smell of crisp green. Leia had called it a type of apple. No, that wasn’t it at all. The scent smelled like burning wood, musky and with a slight tang to it. It smelled good. Washing his hair, that’s what he was doing. 

“A-are you serious?” 

“Like a collapsing star. I told you that I was going to.”

She supposed he had a point and hesitantly began to wash out the shampoo out of her hair. Stars this was ridiculous, it’s not like she hadn’t seen a man without his clothes before. It wasn’t exactly uncommon to walk by the ‘pleasure house’ more like a lean-to tent concoction and see one of the men stumbling out half-clothed or the canvas be blown up by the wind. It was just a body. There wasn’t anything to be nervous or anxious about. It was just a body. Just a body. Rey chanted in an attempt to calm the rise of panic? Unease? She couldn't name the sensation coiling in her gut nor did she want to.

The bond seemed to flicker into life because battering her disquiet was a press of composure. It reached out and coiled and offered. The emotion almost seemed like it need to be taken. As if there was nothing more required of its existence than to be used to ease her. 

“Stop that.” Rey didn’t hear the high-strung tone that she was hoping was drowned it out with mock irritation instead. 

“Stop what?” 

It pushed and she shoved, “That!”

“Oh for the love of- “She turned to see what had stopped him from finishing the sentence with the fierce optimism that the force bond had faded; instead, she was staring at a red faced at a rather dumb-struck, with his mouth dropped slightly open, Ben Solo. 

“Ben!” almost too conveniently with that shout he practically faded like the water droplets, “I’m going to kill him.”  

 

                    ***

Ben staggered back for a moment as the vision of her faded into nothing, “She’s going to kill me.”

He hadn't meant it to be like that. He had meant to turn around and explain but...he shouldn’t have turned around. The man lightly hit his forehead against the wall. He didn’t even realize what was happening until it had her under his hands. He didn’t mean it. He just fell into the feeling, he’d been running his fingers through his hair and then it wasn’t his anymore. 

It felt softer, longer, less tangled. The sigh that was laced with an approving moan urged him to settle into the touch, the imaginative person. He wanted to hear that sound again. He was wanting to feel, not wanting to think. They were warm and oddly solid against him, his hand finding a hip and rubbing into the skin. It all felt so real and Ben didn’t fight the urge to nuzzle into the heat, to feel calm with a pulse he could chase. It was fake, what could it harm to indulge himself?  
It all shattered when he had actually looked to find Rey. A very naked Rey pressed against his body, curled into him. He didn’t panic which was a feat all things considered and promptly pulled away. The cough however completely betrayed him. At least she didn’t seem to realize he was actually touching her. Despite the strain to close the bond’s open channel nothing worked, they’d have to sit it out. Ben refused to show weakness after all it was just a shower. He was taking a shower. He could ignore her. 

‘Focus on the water, the soap...you need to wash your hair.' Yet; all he could imagine were brown locks soaked from the fresher’s water. How simple it had been to run his fingers through the hair making the soap foam and- ‘Stop it!’

He thanked whatever gods that were listening that his voice wasn’t choked out despite the painful clench of his chest and burn in his throat. Of course she’d take offense, it wasn’t as if either of them had full control of the bond though. Instead he thought about particular motions, into focus, a complacent and repetitive chain that schooled his mind into stillness. Although when she shoved an influence into him, he was startled at the amount of warmth that came back. He hadn’t done that. Had he? He could delve into her mind easily enough but his subconscious responding to her? No. That wasn’t possible. Still the sheer strength nearly knocked him over, it nearly had made him slip on the water. 

“Oh for the love of-” He either needed to stop reacting impulsively or do it more often and honestly at the moment he wasn’t sure. 

Rey was...she was...ethereal, otherworldly, beautiful, foreign and alluring. Her skin was tanned by years in the sun with its almost golden glow. She had small scars, knicks and pale abrasions from scavenging that made him want to know their stories. The freckles splashed and danced over her skin reminding him of the night sky. How many constellations could he draw with them? Would she let him? Her hair spilled a little longer past her shoulders and darker because of the water, the liquid fell like rain from her locks. It spilled over her skin giving it a sheen. 

Ben had found himself fighting the urge to reach out. To touch. To follow the drops with his tongue. To know her. The darker part of him, the demanding part was preening in elation. The urge to possess this flame of power and resilience. This was his, she was his. All his. No one could have her. Not the defect, not the pilot. The Resistance couldn’t keep her. Rey was his and his alone. The swirl of dark urged him to want, to need, to grip tightly and bruise her. The marks would prove it and she would like it. She was always so in control. She’d enjoy losing herself. She would like the savory taste of the dark. 

Her shout had snapped not only him out of the winding trance but the connection collapsed. 

**‘Close. So close. You could have claimed it. She’s yours.’**

He scoffed, Rey belonged to no one but Rey. He stamped down on the voice that surprisingly didn’t sound like Snoke. It growled deep and low, grating on his nerves but he rubbed his temples while stepping out of the fresher. The headache bloomed behind his eyes and his chest ached. Ben was being pulled and tugged and it hurt. Pain he could deal with, compartmentalize with his training only he wasn’t supposed to, was he? That was the way to the dark side, the light was to let go, to not feel it engulf but the lure was easy. It was breathing and existing. He snarled forcing him to take in what they’d left for this mission instead of attacking the issue raking its claws through him. 

The outfit looked extremely simple. It was freeing and restrictive all at once, he wasn’t sure what to think of it. It was dark browns and a maroon shirt. The fabric was light, breathable and easy to move in. But it wasn’t padded down, there were many open places to be attacked, there was no protection in case of blaster fire. They only had to make it to Naboo. In the Falcon. It wasn’t as if they were taking public transportation. His face wasn’t widely known but it only took the right people. Naboo was also a risk. Peaceful or not he knew the new Supreme Leader. Hux would search for him everywhere. 

There was a sharp banging at the door that snatched him from where that train of thought would go. Ben didn’t want to sense if it was Rey, that was a beating he wasn’t sure he was ready for. He couldn’t blame her for it, it was partially his fault wasn’t it? Holding to her was his doing wasn’t it? He took his time sliding on his clothes and yelled that he would open the door in a moment. He’d seen women livid, seen her and in the Resistance there were very few- if any- that would stop her from trying to strangle him regardless of knowing what had happened. He found a sort of relief when he opened the door to two strangers. 

The woman had hair like fire in a long braid thrown over her shoulder, the blaster at her thigh was off of safety and what he guessed was a vibroblade was strapped to her hip. She was dressed in a shirt, vest, and plain pants with knee boots. Her stance was defensive with her arms crossed, taking him in. She bluntly looked unimpressed with the man as if she wasn’t surprised to see him, another force user. 

“The General instructed me and Riggs to escort you.” And she was obviously very bored with the whole thing as she turned on her heel, perhaps foolishly trusting or was the woman so confident in herself? 

Riggs was shorter than him but taller than her. He sported a gun with it’s safety off too, neither trusted anyone here it seemed. His dreads were pulled back and a scowl made deeper by the scars on his face. He looked rough, worn around the edges despite his seemingly youthful age. They both did. Oddly he looked even more unimpressed, almost offended as she took the lead and he pulled back behind Ben. It was a formation they fell into, they’d known each other very long, but it was the rigid way it was set in him. Riggs seemed like a soldier once upon a time but not a Stormtrooper. 

The cocky stride she set in front of him and the general false laxness that he could see through screamed at something familiar. He’d seen that gait. He adopted it and despite his attempt to escape that life it still clung to him. The swagger in her walk finally made sense. Smuggler. She was a smuggler. Was his mother really letting anyone into the Resistance or had she been blackmailed into it? Smugglers weren’t known for taking sides easily and most hated being grounded. They preferred the open space and stars with their ship under their feet. He didn't blame them. The allure had called to him as a child like it had his father.

Wasn’t he supposed to go on the Falcon? They weren’t leading him to it. He reached out, she wasn’t extremely force sensitive it would be easy he thought, until she stopped abruptly. 

“Corso do you remember the last time we had to deal with someone like him, always poking their noses where they shouldn’t?” There was a nudged at his back, a blaster and a warning. 

“Sure do, trouble in every way possible. But you can’t hide your bleeding heart, Captain, I s’posse he’s the same too.” The drawl was drawn out as she spun on her heel staring  at Ben up and down with a raised eyebrow, then looked to Riggs. 

“Aye. It can’t be helped, I’ve a soft spot for broken things. Try not to delve into other people’s heads. You might find something you don’t want to see.” She pressed a code into the ship and he watched the-

“Ben?” Ben blinked at the sound of his name but not caring who said it, and drew his eyebrows down. 

They were just there. Riggs and the Captain had been standing next to him, they’d been talking to him. And now? Now they weren’t. There wasn’t anything left where he’d seen them, as if they’d never been in the first place. Instead he found himself in front of a ship that was older than the Falcon. It was beaten in places as if it’d been through an asteroid field or two and marks as if it’d been shot at. 

“We found it here, in the hanger, Dameron says it’s an XS Stock light freighter.” He only vaguely recognized his mother hesitantly speaking about the ship, “No one can get in, the code won’t let us in it.”

“The code?” He muttered and reached out to it, the symbols weren’t familiar, he hadn’t seen them in his studies as he poured over every and any information he could get as a boy, but he could feel them.

_The dress was white only because her friends had found one and forced it on her demanding a real wedding even though Corso and her had already certified the wedding. She was Captain of the ship and as such could perform the ceremony in their normal clothes having just gotten into the air from some mission. They’d been astounded and offended before dragging the married couple away from each other demanding an actual wedding. He was only dressed in bells and whistles because the men had dragged him off the ship to dress him as well. It was a rush to get anything resembling a cake._

Rilee had found it fitting that they’d still get married on the ship. Every good thing that ever happened to happened on this ship. Every good thing happened on her ship. Every single one. The code came to him easily, the buttons registering under his finger tips.

Star Screamer. 

It hissed and creaked but the ramp lowered in obedience, the hanger stood still for a moment quiet at the revelation of the ancient metal being breathing alive again. It was a sight to see, a ship so old responding so easily. Leia scoffed the noise broken but it was fondly because of course Han Solo’s son would figure out how to make the ship do anything regardless of what anyone else said or thought. 

The smell was old and musty and everything was dust laden even from where he stood. The interior looked fairly harmless from where he was standing and the urge to snort was difficult to fight. Harmless, unassuming, simple and it would have been clean if not for the ages. Definitely a smuggler’s ship. 

“The hell did you do?” The voice wasn’t new, he’d heard it before in a room, through a mask before delving into the mind of the best Resistance Pilot in the fleet. 

“Gentle persuasion?” Ben wasn’t sure what he did entirely.

Force ghost were heard of and he could easily see it if the two of them had been strong with the force itself but they weren’t. They were ‘normal’ as they could be from what he gathered. Just a smuggler and a soldier. Yet; he saw them had felt the echo of their memory. It spiraled through time and space to pour into the place in front of him. He supposed it could be due to the strength of the emotions leaving an echo but that didn’t explain how they were able to speak to him. The headache he’d forgotten about was bursting forwards and he want to walk away and sleep but the ship had opened for him. 

They’d lead him to it. They’d let him see. They’d given him what? Permission?  
“Whatever you did it worked.” Ben ‘hmm’ed almost too hypnotized by the curiosity of what was in the ship to make him care that Poe was next to him, “Maybe we shouldn’t clap you in irons on the way to Naboo.”

He took a step even as Poe scowled but Leia raised a hand to the pilot, this was the first time Ben had looked so intrigued that she’d seen in a while. The face looked nearly identical to Han’s if not for the genetics of her cheeks on her son’s face.

Just a little bit longer. Just to the look on his face a little bit longer. 

The ship came alive under his feet, a pressure plate sparking up the power supply into flickering lights that eventually stabilized. The piping was bronze and steel as it ran above his head for easy access perhaps or maybe the panels got knocked loose during some fight and were never replaced. Maybe she never had the time to do so? He walked slowly taking in the subtle changes and there was a moment he swore a little girl tugged at his sleeve before she sped off into the ship laughing. So much memory. 

The growl was distinctly Shyriiwook as he stepped in what looked like a kitchen with it’s bar and a deck of cards laying on the dust.

_‘'Oh please, like I would cheat for a piece of chocolate.'’_

_The growl resounded back and Ben understood the '‘Yes, you would Mouse.’'_

_‘'Mouse, the kriff are you calling mouse?'’_

_‘You. Mouse.’_

The woman groaned in annoyance and the memory passed. 

Ben left the room and kept walking to step into the cockpit. It had been altered for an optional co-piolit, the seats were old and in places torn but held up considerably well. 

_‘'Stop squirming or you’ll make me mess up the etching.'’_

_‘'You’re literally putting a needle into my lekku!’'_

_The woman scoffed and tugged the other one, '‘Don’t be such a baby, you like and we both know it. Besides most pain comes with some pleasure.’'_

_‘'Is there anyone you won’t flirt with Rilee?'’_

The woman- Rilee- chuckled and went back to tattooing the twi’lek’s skin.

Dangling from the top of the controls was a chain with a ring on it. The ring was slender, silver with etching in the odd language. It had luck, like his father's dice?

 _"I promise to drive you crazy with jealousy, risk your life regularly and be sure you never have a boring moment ever again.”_

_'‘I’ll hold you to that, wife.’'_

_‘'I’m betting on it, husband.'’_

Ben turned and there was the woman leaning against the wall looking at him and not through him, “Everything good to me happened on this junk heap. Every single thing. But it’s so old now, she hasn’t flown in ages. I wonder if you could make her fly?” Rilee had pushed off the wall and scrutinized him,” I think you’d be good to each other, think she’d listen to you. Promise me to take her out in the stars, even if just once.” He didn’t know what to say even more when she grabbed his hand cold as it was,”Promise me.”

Then she was gone with nothing left but the chill clinging to his skin. It didn’t shake as he walked back out to see Lei- his mother- watching him with Rey at her side. He adamantly avoided the younger woman’s gaze.

“It’s a good ship.” He spoke stiffly. 

“We’ll see if we can get her to Naboo while you’re there. The Falcon’s ready.” Leia held out her hand, the first reaction was to recoil, to slink back into the ship and away but he reached regardless.

Leia for the first time in years gripped her son’s hand with both of her’s and held it, “Behave as best you can.”

He nodded and she turned to leave. Leaving him...with Rey. To say she looked livid was too tame a term at the flush and beginnings of a snarl on her lips.

**

Rey had told herself she wouldn’t strangle him and to her credit she wasn’t. Yet. To his credit he did have the decency to look at the ground and his ears turn red. His hands clenched and she could see that he was fighting with what he’d done. 

“I...understand that the bond is...unstable and we can’t control it but that didn’t give me...I wasn’t… I didn’t mean to…” He couldn’t find the words to explain with her standing that close and he fought back the growl.

“Just say you’re sorry, looking at me.” Rey watched him shift from foot to foot before looking up, he looked for lack of a better word awkward. 

She idly wondered how long it had been since he’d apologized, if he ever had to? Leia had told her that Ben had been a sweet baby and hardly ever got in trouble until the incident that sent him to Luke. Was the boy that had been sweet still there? If she could just dig far enough under his skin then he might be or something of him might be. He was grinding his teeth and his jaw was twitching, he was nervous atop of irritated and after taking a few deep breaths he sighed. He was going to apologize, it was just three words and nothing else. Just words. First though he had to look at her. Ben was hesitant but looked at her and straightened his spine. Pride. She was relying on his pride to make him apologize. 

“I...I’m sorry.” The words were low, graveled and she’d hardly heard them but it was progress. 

“Thank you.” Rey turned on her heel and he couldn’t help the slight stare as her hips swung a bit and he wasn’t sure if she was doing it on purpose or not. 

Rey was thanking the gods that Ben hadn’t pressed into her mind, besides the preening of pride in her chest, there was the lingering image of his bare back pressed into her mind. The scars she wanted to trace and question. Would he let her? How rough would they feel under her touch? Could she even trace that which marked him by her hand? Could she apologize? Rey snorted as she walked across the hanger said man on her heels either from apprehension or the need to be near someone that didn’t want to kill him. Well at the moment. She was sure there would be something he would do in the future, five minutes from now or even a day that would set them off on a spiral of arguments and fights. For now though Ben followed silent while the approached the Falcon. She didn’t have to be bonded to him to tell that he was anxious. This ship had been his home once, it held childhood memories both good and bad in its walls. It held his oldest friend that he didn’t blame if he hated him. 

Chewie greeted Rey with a smile and hug. Everything froze looking at Ben though. Chewie stalked towards him, snarling and growling Shyriiwook with each step as Rey watched Ben practically shrink to the size of her hand. He spoke back with a soft growl that was pitiful. She could see at how close to something he was on when Chewie reached out and he flinched. Instead of snarling the wookie laid a hand on the man’s head. She watched the shock spill onto his face obviously expecting something worse. 

‘What did they do to you, Ben?’

The Wookie ruffled Ben’s hair, the dark tresses flowing through the brown fur. Rey’s heart nearly broke at the sight, more at the tenderness passing over his face. This must have happened so much as a child. Chewie ruffling his hair as he passed by even now as an adult and it nearly broke her to see the rise of childish trust and pain of his present actions war with themselves. In the end he leaned into it and followed Chewie onto the ship. They were headed to Naboo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my cheese and crackers I did not expect this to be so long. Thank you for reading this ridiculous chapter, I had fun with the Riggs( 's or ess for two or ???) and there might be more of them in the future. Also once again if anyone is ooc please forgive me as I am trying and will do better in the future! I am welcome to any help, advice and as always critiques. Once again thank you so much for reading!


	5. First Echoes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted it on May 4, may the fourth be with right? In all honesty I'm sorry how long it took for me to update this! Please enjoy and as always critiques are welcomed!

Naboo was unlike anything Rey had ever seen. As they landed on a hidden alcove she was stunned. Trees raised higher than she could imagine in their vibrant greens and deep browns. Vines hung down and she wished to climb up and leap between branches. The air was filled with some sweet smelling flower and freshly rained upon earth, some drops still lingering on leaf edges or bark’s sharp juts. It was beautiful. She reached down dragging her hand against the dirt that was soft and nothing like the sand she was used too with it’s sprouting grass brushing against her palm and fingertips. She could hear the far off sound of rushing water and wanted to chase the sound while breathing in deep gulps of fresh air. 

“It’s beautiful.” She had whispered turning in a circle. 

“Very.” Ben’s voice was closer than she’d anticipated and she was proud of not jumping at its proximity, “I came here once before when I was a child. I wonder how much it’s changed.”

“We’re going to find out, right Chewie?” Rey called back taking a few steps away as that tug in her gut seemed to snag at her, the waiver and clench was something she was beginning to associate with their connection. 

The Wookie yelled back an answer and Ben frowned, “We’re meeting a contact? I didn’t know there was still one here. And in the city? Wonders never cease.” 

He could have sworn that the last of the spies had been rooted out of Naboo, he was wrong apparently. A part of him stirred, snarling and screaming at his stupidity and arrogance to not have looked at the results personally, to not have come here and torn the Rebellion up root and stem. It grated against the back of his mind, loud and demanding. He could feel the headache forming from the base of his neck. 

_‘Ben?’_

Rey’s voice spilled through bringing a gentle pause to the growing pain in his skull, she was standing in front of him with a raised eyebrow. She hadn’t actually spoken. Was it even her who had said anything or a fragment of his subconscious that had taken her voice? Could his subconscious even manage that? Had it been her subconscious reaching out to him? He shook his head gently and ran a hand through his hair, it was nothing. Nothing at all. 

“We’re going to have to take the shuttle into town, Chewie got us as close as we can dare without being spotted. It’s not far.”

“I know.”

Ben followed dutifully behind Rey as she climbed over branches and roots. When she was happy she bounced a little on the balls of her feet with each step, nothing too noticeable if you weren’t paying attention. Yet; he was. Her new hairstyle let the locks sway and catch the stray beams of sunshine that was tossed by the wind making shadows with the leaves. She had donned a backpack, their supplies he guessed, as they made it to the edge of Naboo’s civilization. 

Rey couldn’t stop smiling. She’d never ridden a shuttle! What would the city look like? The General had told her about the First Order occupation, had they destroyed it’s beauty? Would the grand towers stand tall still or had they been crushed? Would it even still look like a city or a desolate wasteland that had once been full of beauty? Rey jumped at the warm hand on her lower back, she hadn’t noticed the shuttle had arrived and instead was lost in her own thought when Ben nudged her forwards. That hand was warm against the splay of her back so much that she could feel the heat through her shirt. Or was that her imagination again?

They stepped onto it and they were practically flying towards the city. Dread welled up in been like he’d never known. What had his actions done to his grandmother’s home? What damage had he brought upon this place. When the doors opened and revealed the city he was surprised. It was bustling with buy and trade. People shouted out for their wares and the city for all intent and purpose looked normal. He wasn’t a fool though. The answer was more complex. The Queen would be the corrupt, when Snoke had taken hold Ben had no doubt that the new Queen was a loyalist to the First Order. 

“This is...I can’t…” Rey was wide eyed staring at the spectacle around her in awe.

Ben often forgot that the powerful Jedi knew so little of the galaxy. All she could attest to was the Rebellions bases, Maz’s Palace and Jakku. Desolate, painful, scorched Jakku and all it’s agony to bare down on her. He admired her in that way. The universe had twisted and torn at her yet; she stood here in the sun watching a world that she could never have dreamed of passing around her. His heart clenched and the gentle smile he’d had dropped back into a scowl. This was no time for foolish ideas or musings. They had to find their contact. 

It made sense to start walking among the town’s open bazaar, someone would notice them and take them to the hiding house. The vendors called out as the wandered for at least an hour with Rey speaking animatedly to each one while Ben watched. He watched her. He watched the vendor and the others around them. Something spiked though, something wavered and coiled and snatched that neither had created. The bond trembled and pulled taunt almost painfully feeling as if it would snap. Then nothing. Nothing stirred, nothing moved. Nothing happened. 

All grew quiet and the sound of armor plates clanking against each other and heavy foot falls filled the space left. Troopers. Rey spun around and Ben grabbed her arm. They couldn’t run, it would be to obvious but they couldn’t stand still either. It was a slow process trying to maneuver around and between people in the crowd. The Stormtroopers filled the square nearly bathing it in hues of white as they yelled orders. It was inevitable.

“You! Stop!’’ The demand was hissed out and both froze. 

They shouldn’t panic. They didn’t know if either of their faces were known here. They should be calm. The Force rose and the bond constricted as a flood of emotions spiraled between the two. Fury, Rage, Fear. They were drowning in the sea of it all. If they stayed one of them would use the Force. Rey knew even if they were powerful there were more than either could handle together. Without another thought she grabbed Ben’s hand and bolted down an alleyway while the Stormtroopers shouted. 

“What are you doing?!” He was angry, rightfully so, however the intensity of his fury nearly knocked her over as the bond surged. 

“I don’t know!” 

They didn’t know the city. They didn’t know the where was safe. They didn’t know anything. All Rey knew was that her gut was dragging her through the maze of uncertainty and she’d learned long ago to rely on the instinct to run. Something called, tugged and crooned at her. Oddly familiar and disturbingly foreign. The golden warmth was cradled by something cold and sleek. 

_Hard mahogany wood under calloused fingers. Have to train. Have to get better. I have to stop him. I have to protect them. All is lost without the information from him. All will be destroyed. He’ll kill them all._

She hadn’t seen the walking stick until she was tripping over it. Rey fell forwards unceremoniously pitching herself into the hard rock below her feet and feeling her face drag along loose rocks. Only seconds later a heavy weight collapsed atop of her with an undignified shout that had her head knocking against something hard and forcing her further into the rocky stone. She could already feel the bruises and scrapes from her tumble and Ben’s collapse atop of her.

The long stick was more a staff. Hard dark wood dragging on the ground as a woman stepped out of the shadows. She was old. Life had drawn hard lines onto her face and splotched it with darker patches of her skin tone. Her hair fell to her waist in a tight braid of sheer white. She wore a simple shirt, brown pants and black boots. She raised a delicate eyebrow and her grey eyes seemed to harden. 

“Tsk. What a pair you two are. Up, hide in here and don’t make a sound.” She pulled back a curtain and watched them scurry in.

Acting as if nothing was out of place she sat back down, crossed her legs and waited. Ben and Rey could hear her breathing, slow, deliberate, calculated. Almost as if she were meditating when the Stormtroopers rushed up. 

“Have you seen two people, a man and woman run through this way.” 

Her voice was strong despite it’s obvious worn age, “No and if I had I still would refuse to tell you.”

Ben was able to see through some of the holes in the curtain as the woman stood up leaning on her staff -less stick and too short to be a cane- and glared. 

“Under the orders of the Supreme Leader you are re-”

“You and your Supreme Leader,”, she had rolled her eyes and sounded condescending, “Are free to try and make me do anything down here, child. If he’s so Supreme why hasn’t he stopped the Rebellion? Why hasn’t he found the traitors? Why hasn’t he done anything but stay up in his over extravagant ship and stare out a window lost in the mechanics of his miniscule mind?”

Ben saw the guns power up and the old woman used the staff with lightning speed snatching the closes Stormtrooper forwards and angled the gun at herself. She looked bored and he was shaking. 

“Well? Go on. Kill me, but know that you’re wasting time as each and every second you stand here they are getting farther away.” The guns powered down and they rushed down the alley way as if suddenly forgetting her and the taunts. 

She sat back down and waited. And waited. And waited. It was a time before she tapped the top where the curtain’s rings rested did she allow them out. Ben was cautious. 

Rey was impressed, “Thank you for the help.’’

“You two are the only fate the galaxy has and you can’t even properly hide from the likes of them? How have you survived this long Jedi?” The woman scoffed and tapped her staff against the ground, “Shall we?”

Ben reached out trying to gauge her intentions, surely this isn’t their contact. The contact wasn’t old, female, or seemingly so foul.

_The ship was coming down around them, pieces fell in metal sheets shaking the whole of the ship. It rumbled and roiled and bodies fell of the bridge edge. Friends, family. Have to find him. Have to make their deaths worth something. There has to be a way or else it was all for not and the galaxy will crumble to him. Find him!_

Ben nearly staggered as he was flung from the memory, he felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. The smell of oils and feel of boiling steam rising up from either side of the bridge had left their heat on his skin. The dead body under his hand had been real, tangible as if he’d look down now and see the corpse still warm there. He had felt the desperation, the agony, the fury and the struggle to erase the feelings. The struggle to be calm and find a center. The woman clacked her staff again and he glared. 

“Your informant was executed last month, publicly under the sanction of the first order. I’ve been feeding your friends their information ever since. Come on, we’ve still got a ride to catch.” She turned on her heel and began to walk away. 

Ben attempted to reach out again but was met with a wall thicker and more ironclad than any he’d ever known. This was dangerous. He grabbed Rey’s arm. 

“We shouldn’t go.”

“Do you have a better idea?’

“She isn’t what she’s pretending to be.”

“I’m not an idiot, Ben, I know that. But she’s the best lead we have and all we’ve got right now.”

“For all we know she could have killed our mole.”

“For all we know she couldn’t have either. We have to take this leap!”

“If you two are quite finished, our ride?” The voice cut through and both jumped. 

Rey had the decency to look bashful while Ben simply glared as the old woman huffed and began to walk away again. He didn’t press to find what was in her mind again, instead followed as they traveled through winding corridors and past various houses. The dock they arrived at was a private one hidden away from prying eyes. The boat was slender, sleek, made for speed as the woman settled into the driver’s seat. She waited until Rey had sat down nearly on Ben’s lap before the air was rushing past them in a loud howl. 

Rey was tempted to reach out and touch the water, she wouldn’t be able too but she was tempted, while the they flew ever faster across the lake. The mansion was beautiful. It cusped the edges of the island, deep in the forest away from any prying eyes. The brick was a shade of tan the roofs a dull blue color while some were a warm red. They pulled to the dock and the woman got out. Rey clambered up and turned to help Ben out. The bond snapped to life with sudden ferocity, there was no reason to connect them they were right in front of each other; however everything heightened. The way his skin felt on hers, how the weaving of her clothes had become clammy against her skin and the vibration around them. She snatched her hand back the moment he was upright on the wood of the dock. 

Rey couldn’t bring herself to look at him, her face flushed red and her heart thrashing against her ribs. Instead she scurried up the steps. It was beautiful. Plants bloomed in vibrant colors as they walked over the warm stone. The bond must still be open because the very air seemed to tremble with each step she took. She could feel Ben trailing close behind her. Not just through the bond but through something else as well. It felt like a wave pushing and pulling against her, her feet took sure steps where her mind wrapped in it’s uncertainty. 

There was an island in the middle of the lake. The water sparkled and shined, dancing in the sun as it fell atop the beautiful blues. She wanted to swim to it. There was enough water, maybe she could learn how. She leaned on the railing, rising up on her toes to see further out. Ben leaned on the railing too, letting his hand slide over the rock, and picking at pieces. The time of day shifted, the sunlight was all wrong and yet hadn’t seemed to change at all. The lake was brighter, the island larger and Rey felt the lightest of fabrics wrap around her body with the gentle cool breeze. 

_“We would swim to that island everyday. I love the water. We used to lay out on the sand and let the sun dry us and try to guess the names of the birds singing.”_

_“I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating. And it gets everywhere.”_

_The voice was all wrong, too kind, too happy, too unburdened. Yet; when she looked all she saw was Ben. His clothes that of a Jedi, darker than Luke’s had been and she could swear there was a grin playing at the edges of his lips._

_“Not like here. Here everything is soft. Soft and smooth.” His fingers were calloused and yet Rey didn’t feel the need to move away._

_His touch was tender and she found herself leaning into it if just so. His hand brushed against her bare back and she turned to look at him. This was wrong. Very wrong. They had their duties, they had their own lives. This wasn’t right. Yet when he leaned forwards she did. Ben’s nose brushed hers and she dared a gasp. Her eyes fluttered shut. She wanted this. She needed it. She felt safe with him, he wouldn’t hurt her._

“Curious.” Rey’s eyes snapped open and she leapt back as did Ben. 

His face was stony but his ears were an exceptional color of red, she could feel he was furious. Yet. Yet; just for the barest of moments before they sprang apart his eyes had been tender and dare she think loving. She knew his anger but just underneath was something like longing, desperation and pain. Then fell into a slight panic. They had been about to kiss. Kiss. Her heart nearly stopped at that thought. 

“What was that?” Ben’s voice was harsh, cracked, his throat sore. 

“This is where the fate of the galaxy was decided. Places like this leave scars, fissures, holes. Echoes, I like to call them. Force users are sensitive but as you two are peculiarly strong you might be able to step into their shoes.” The woman walked up her staff cracking each time she took a step. 

“Where is here?” Rey was confused, still torn in a whirlwind of what she could only guess was the Echoes residual emotions. 

“This is where the start of the whole Jedi demise started. This is where they fell in love together.”

“Who?” Rey sounded irritated. 

“My grandparents.”


End file.
